(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to thin film transistor panels for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), more in detail, to wire structures for repairing defects due to disconnection of data lines.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, thin film transistor liquid crystal displays include a plurality of gate lines transmitting scan signals, a plurality of data lines transmitting display signals and intersecting the gate lines, a plurality of pixel regions defined by the intersecting of the gate lines and the data lines, and thin film transistors (TFTs) formed in the pixel regions. Such TFT-LCDs are formed by depositing a plurality of thin films, one at a time, and etching the same. However, the films may break open in specific areas, causing a disconnection of the portions of the films.
To prevent the disconnection, the data lines are either doubled at portions where they overlap the gate lines, or another metal layer is deposited and patterned either over or under the data lines, to form repair lines. This method is disclosed in the currently pending U.S. application, application Ser. No. 09/174,429, filed on Oct. 19, 1999, entitled "LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS AND MANUFACTURING METHODS THEREOF" by Sang-Soo KIM, Dong-Gyu KIM and Woon-Yong, PARK. This pending application is hereby incorporated by reference.
In the former method above, it is difficult to repair the data lines disconnected in areas other than where the data lines intersect the gate lines.
In the latter method above, an additional metal layer is deposited and patterned to form the redundancy lines, and an insulating film is etched to form contact holes for connecting the redundancy lines and the data lines. Therefore, additional steps are required.